Bhutan King Leads Army Into Battle

Bhutan has launched a military campaign against thousands of Indian rebels who have been sheltering in the Himalayan kingdom for more than a decade.

King Jigme Singye Wangchuk has led his troops into battle in the first military conflict fought by the small nation since the British left the subcontinent more than half a century ago.

Bhutanese troops claim to have scored a series of blows against the guerrillas, ejecting them from bases in the southern part of the country. Some reports say more than 100 rebels, including several leaders, have been killed and 500 captured.

The army has rejected a ceasefire offer from the militants - the armed wing of the movement seeking independence for India's north-eastern states.

Singye Dorjee, Bhutan's deputy foreign affairs secretary, said: "There have been talks with the rebels for six years, but they came to nothing. That's why we decided to flush them out."

Supporters of the rebels called a two-day general strike in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam and parts of West Bengal to protest against the military offensive in Bhutan.

Bhutan has held extensive negotiations with the rebels, but India had long pressed its tiny neighbour to use force to eject them. Landlocked Bhutan relies heavily on India for economic assistance and vital supplies such as petrol and food grain.